Christmas Pudding

The story

On the last Sunday before Advent, known as Stir-up Sunday, British families, and many Irish ones too, traditionally gather the whole household around a single bowl. Every member of the family, from youngest to oldest, must give the thick Christmas pudding batter at least one stir, always from east to west in honor of the three Wise Men, while silently making a wish for the year ahead. A silver coin is often stirred into the mixture, and whoever finds it on their plate on Christmas Day is said to have good luck all year. The pudding is deliberately cooked weeks in advance and often "fed" with spirits as it waits for Christmas, growing darker, denser and more aromatic. On the day itself it is served aflame: doused with warmed rum or brandy and lit at the table to the applause of the household. The ritual of stirring together is growing rarer. A 2013 survey found that two-thirds of British children had never taken part in stirring a pudding, which makes this small family moment all the more precious if you decide to revive it.